If you have a problem with your computer what course of actions would you consider?

Basically the title says it all.

 

If I knew for sure I was infected....disc wipe...install image...restore backed up files....done....15-20 mins tops and no worries.

 

Restore an image. IMO bar-none the most efficient and effective way to fix a problem in the O/S. Rollback software would be an effective choice as well.

 

Rollback RX do I need to say anything else

 

Other: fix it. That could mean a lot of things depending on what's the cause.

 

Restore from backup image.

 

Restore from backup image.
Don't know why it took me so long to figure out what an easy and reliable tool that turns out to be.

 

Re: If you have a problem with your computer what course of actions would you conside

I'm aware that the cause might determine the strategy. This is the whole point, nowadays restoring a good image has become so easy, reliable, and fast that unless you have an interest in understanding how malware affected your system there is really no point in a time consuming investigation, or spending 3 hours scanning your computer with different tools.

There's at least one member here who stated that he likes IE 6 for its vulnerabilities so that he can find ways to circumvent the damage created by malware. I'm more interested in a fast recovery, no downtime solution, but I must admit that at least once I had to ask the professional help of a repair shop for the damage created testing an antimalware application.

 

Re: If you have a problem with your computer what course of actions would you conside

I couldn't agree more, it took me years to realize that this is the ultimate tool for any problem, provided you can rely on it working all the time. I'm often surprised at the importance given to AVs programs, and the perfunctory attention to backup applications.

 

Definitely restore from a backup image or FD-ISR archive.

 

The question is too broad. Depending on what exactly the problem is, restoring with a backup image would be one option. If it's a file corruption problem or an install with undesired results, using a backup image would be my first choice. If the PC gets compromised, a backup image may be used later in the cleanup process. First I'd want to determine what aspect of my defenses failed (software exploit, basic policy failure, user error, etc). I'd then restore to a clean state, make the necessary changes, then make a new backup image.

That claimed importance comes from AV vendors. They want to keep users paying for signatures and subscriptions. Real security solutions could put them out of business.

 

RollBack

 

@ Osaban: I never have malwareproblems (fingers crossed), but suppose I would, then I would restore a backup, maybe after some playing around ( like let all the on-demand scanners run). In case of a softwarerelated problem I always investigate first and when I'm not satisfied with the result I also do an image-restore. It's a Godgiven option.

 

Usually i just recover the system to save my files and just reinstall OS
I like having a fresh install of Windows every now and then

 

Of course and I agree. I will try to fix a problem first but if after whatever time of fruitless efforts I decide is already too long, I will simply restore an image.

 

if its a hardware prob i replace it myself
if a software problem i sort it out
if virus/malware i don't have a problem as its sandboxied and i have returnil turned on so reboot and its gone
i double check sometimes with hijackthis

 

A very general question. I selected "Other", the problem would dictate the course of action. There is one option I would never select, "Let a repair shop deal with it"

 

TRUE, me too

 

Other.
What if my power supply blew up....I wouldn't rush to restore an image, I'd replace the power supply.
What if my video card blew the GPU HSF...I wouldn't restore an image, I'd replace that.
What if my DVD player died...I wouldn't restore an image.
What if my ATI control panel went wonky, I wouldn't restore an image, I'd uninstall/reinstall the latest Catalyst drivers.

Too many things happen that are easy to fix without hitting the panic button.

 

The selection of answers in the poll would seem to imply data problems. At least that's my take on it and the basis for formulating my response.

 

Truthfully I would consider whatever it took to correct the problem except take it to a shop, since that is what I do.
bigc

 

Sometimes taking it to a shop still wont fix the problem. There is no guarantee that they even know what they are doing half the time


My vote is a simple restore from a image if that fails Full wipe and format.

 

Re: If you have a problem with your computer what course of actions would you conside

I realize that the question is too general, but it didn't apply to the computer hardware. You are an expert in these things, but many of your listed items, I would have to use tech help (video card, the DVD player on my laptop I wouldn't try to replace it myself), on the other hand I would prefer to restore an image rather than reinstalling the Catalyst drivers.

Computer knowledge is diverse and highly specialized, there are people who could spend hours if not days on end trying to figure out what happen to their machine. The latter was my initial approach, nowadays for lack of time, dwindling interest in the matter, and the the ultra fast recovery of systems through images, I personally don't bother anymore than 5 minutes about software problems.

I guess for someone like you, to understand why things do happen would make sense.

 

You can always backup your OS partition and data separately. It's always best to keep multiple copies of your important data in multiple locations and on different media types in case of a catastrophe.

There is no rule stating that you can't use more than one imaging program to image your drive. You probably don't want 2 installed on your machine but you can image and restore with the boot discs. As far as reliability, there is only one way to find out if they work and that is to test the image. I've heard Peter2150 say that many times.

If I have a problem I would definitely restore an image. One of the best things I have done is purchase and external HDD that I keep offline. Life is too short to fiddle around with computer problems when you have the luxury of a working image .

 

So True. LOL